Terry Cox serves as Chief of Staff to Councilmember Esmeralda Soria, District 1. Terry oversees the day to day operations of District 1 and management of the staff. Her responsibilities include scheduling, overseeing the district budget, and meeting with key stakeholders, community leaders and various organizations of behalf of Councilmember Soria. Terry also assists and advises Councilmember Soria on city related issues. She has also previously served as Chief of Staff for 7 years to Councilmember Ronquillo and served on the Council budget committee.

Prior to joining the District 1 team, Terry was a contract employee for PG&E’s 70 mile Central Valley Power Connect Transmission Line Project, coordinating the outreach to the public and elected officials of Madera, Fresno and Kings County. Terry was also responsible for scheduling and organization of Community meetings held in eight cities within in the three Counties.

Terry also brings 8 years of budget and project management experience with the City of Fresno’s Redevelopment Agency now known as the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fresno. As a Project Manager/Management Analyst III, Terry was responsible for analyzing and proposing an annual budget plan for Agency projects as well as assisting with the preparation and presentation of the budget. Her daily responsibilities included project management and proposal to the City Council multiple multi-million dollar public/private development and public works projects over the years.

Terry currently serves as President of the Central Unified Board of Trustees. She was elected to the office of Trustee in 2000. She was re-elected in 2004, 2008 and 2012. The district’s current student enrollment is over 15,000 students and employs over 1,400 support staff. The district boundaries cover 88 square miles and lies within District 1 boundaries.

In 2011, Terry was elected to the Fresno County Committee on School District Organization serving Fresno County. In January 2015, she was re-elected to serve until 2018. The county committee on school district organization has a major role in the review and approval of proposals to change school district organization in the county. Their recommendations and findings are provided to the Fresno County Office of Education and the State Board of Education.

Terry has served by appointment of the City of Fresno Council as a committee member on the West Area Citizens Committee (1995-2008) and the District 1 Citizens Implementation Committee (2008-2015). As a committee member she was advisory to the City Councilmember and City of Fresno Planning Commission on projects within the West Area and District 1.

Gilbert FelixCouncil Assistant

Gilbert Felix serves as the liaison between residents of District 1 and Councilmember Soria. He is focused on constituent services and community outreach and engagement. Previously Gilbert served as Field Representative for Assemblymember Rudy Salas where he focused on constituent services, corrections, education, environmental issues, immigration, labor, and youth outreach. He is an alum of Fresno’s Leading Young Professionals Downtown Academy and also serves on the Board of Directors for Fresno Barrios Unidos.

Gilbert is a Central Valley native and holds a B.A. in political science from California State University, Fresno. Please contact him at (559) 621-7814 or Gilbert.Felix@fresno.gov.